Conned (22 page)

I shook my head, "No way, I'm clean. Coming to you is
putting my career on the line already."

"Well then, guess I better watch my back from here on
out," he said with an amused smile. Too bad he was one of the bad guys, I
would have gotten along with him.

"So your brother was obviously framed, but why would
Dawson manipulate
Emily
into testifying against him?"

"I asked myself the same thing and only came up with
one solution that I'm sure you've already considered," he suggested.
"I'm looking for Rayce because I know he killed Daniels, but he tried to
destroy my family, infiltrate my home, my business. I want his head before you
get him."

Challenge. I wanted him first.

"Rayce is the one who came to me with a proposition
when his sister first went into hiding," he continued.

"What kind of proposition?"

"He gets a position on my 'staff'," he even used
air quotes, "if he could help get me what I wanted most. At the time, I
was too pissed to think of anything but helping my brother. He showed up here
almost two weeks ago telling me he was getting it done himself. What I wanted,
he could get me. He knew that."

Dread boiled in my stomach at the look in his eyes. There
was fury there, but at the same time, pity.

For me?

"And what was that?" I asked, my voice strangely
calm when my body was wound up so tightly, I thought I would snap.

"Emily," he said. "Alive."

Emily

The doorbell rang and Deputy Shaw sighed before standing
from the table they had gathered around. "That'll be the pizza," she
grumbled and scowled at Givens who rubbed his hands together anxiously.

They had been going over the plan for her and informing her
that jail time was definitely going to happen. Emily had already accepted that,
even welcomed it. At this point, it would be a miracle to get away from these
two. If it wasn't Shaw complaining about the food in this place, it was Givens
trying to piss her off, or in other words, get in her pants.

It was awkward and made her miss Conall that much more.

So yeah, she welcomed the thought of jail time. Anything to
distract her from the thought of Conall hating her forever.

She had spoken with Ash briefly that morning. Ash had been
perfectly pleasant with her which was a surprise. She was aware of the
situation and didn't hate her, too. In fact, she had told her that she was
sorry her 'brother was an asshat' and she hoped everything worked out in the
end. It had put a smile on her face, but it didn't last long. She didn't give
Emily any other information other than Conall had left early that morning and
was working on getting some answers.

Captain Miller hadn't been too happy about that and went off
on a tangent about how he wished Lucas Shade would come to Denver and trade
places with Conall. She'd defended him, but realized the man was just blowing
off steam. The way he talked about Conall said he respected him and he valued
him as a detective.

She wanted to tell him that and see the pride on his face
when she did, but that wouldn't happen. Not anymore.

Rayce had made sure of that.

No.
She
had.

She'd always had a choice and she couldn't forget that.

She heard Shaw drop the chain on the door and open it, then
there was a deafening silence before a loud crack. She turned and saw Shaw's
body collapse to the floor in a heap and barely registered Givens shooting out
of his chair before a muted sound filled her ears and he fell back into the
table, moving it a good two feet before crashing to the floor as well. She
stared at him, lying at her feet in front of her and the red seeping out of a
hole in his stomach.

The sound of the deadbolt sliding into place at the door
brought her to her feet. Her movements felt heavy and strained, like she was
moving through water. She looked over at the front door to find the cause of
all of this.

Rayce.

"Hello, Emily."

She couldn't move her lips and all the blood in her head
dropped to her feet, leaving her dizzy and nauseous.

"Why don't you sit down, huh?"

She did, in fact, she basically collapsed back into her
chair and nearly sent it toppling backward as she stared at her little baby
brother with the same green eyes as hers. Only they weren't the same. They were
dull, cold, dangerously hard. The eyes of a killer.

"I know what you must be thinking. I want to explain it
to you before I take you to Lucien."

"Take me to Lucien?"

"Shut up. I should have known everything would be
fucked once I brought you into this. If Trent had shown up on time instead of
pissing his money away at the casino, this whole thing would be playing out
smoothly."

She kept her mouth shut this time instead of asking the
question that was playing on repeat in her mind,
"Did you do it? Did
you do it?"

Rayce lifted a chair off the floor that had tipped over when
Givens fell into the table and sat down roughly, a shiny black gun with a
silencer attached to it dangling from his hand. He rested it on his lap as he
faced her. She looked back down at the injured man and it didn't look good. He
was still breathing, but he was pale and losing a lot of blood.

"But he didn't show up on time and the plan changed.
You were the only person I could think of that would do whatever I asked as
long as I asked it correctly. Pathetic really, but useful." He grinned at her
and the brother she had sworn to protect so long ago was completely gone. She
couldn't find a trace of the silly little boy she had loved so much. The boy
who had looked to her for guidance when their parents disappeared on one of
their drinking binges and never came back.

His blonde hair was shaved clean and he sported a tattoo on
his skull that looked frightening and evil. She didn't want to see the details,
so she looked back at the ice in his eyes and waited.

"I've been waiting for a chance to get in with Lucien
Ripley for a long ass time. The only way to show loyalty was to put his family
first. What better way than to set something up to prove I could do the job?
Stanton's a pussy, but that didn't make it hard to frame him. Trent was
supposed to play witness, claim he was meeting with an escort who I'd already
paid to go along with the story. The dumbass didn't realize how deep he was
going and I liked it that way. I could get rid of his worthless as in the
process. Guess he got what he deserved when your detective shot him in the
head."

She was going to vomit. Suddenly, it all made perfect sense.
Trent had been so familiar, but the hair and scar had thrown her. She'd caught
only a glimpse of him at the station when they had both given their statements,
but she hadn't recognized him, especially when she was too concerned with the
gun pointing at her.

"And Daniels? He was playing Ripley
and
Garrett."

"Garrett?" she asked softly.

"My boss. We caught him selling both products and
pocketing a portion of the profit. Figured I could kill two birds with one
stone by taking him out. Stanton being his little buddy was just too
easy."

She already knew it, but hearing it come out of his mouth
was still a blow to the stomach. "
You
killed him?"

He tilted his head to the side as if the answer was so
obvious, she didn't want to believe her brother was capable of all of this.
"Emily, come on. Don't tell me you're still holding out hope for me. You
may have raised me, but I wasn't about to let myself continue to live the way
we were. You'd never take a risk to improve your life. I had to get away from
you and then when I came back to help you out and you
refused
… well,
that was insulting,
sister
."

"I didn't want your dirty money," she stated
angrily. "I just wanted my brother."

"Doesn't matter, I made the effort then washed my hands
clean of you."

Her already broken heart shattered into a billion pieces.
She knew he resented her, but to literally toss her aside because she couldn't
give him everything he wanted… it was agony. She should have left him to the
system, let someone else teach him the importance of family. They might have
been more successful.

"So you used me."

"Yep. Plain and simple, but you couldn't even
accomplish
that
. After all your claims of love to your only brother, you
were ready to throw me to the wolves, weren't you?"

He was crazy.
That
was plain and simple. "You've
done the same to me,
brother
."

He shrugged and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah,
well, it had to be done. Once I take you into Lucien, my spot will be arranged.
I'll be making more money than I'll know what to do with."

"So that was your plan all along, to basically have me
killed just so you could make a little money?"

"Not exactly. Once I got you involved, I figured I'd be
able to convince Ripley without having to kill you, but then you were supposed
to disappear and I ran out of time. I couldn't find you until you called."

Conall had been right. She was stupid enough to contact him,
thinking he was only worried about her. He'd found her with Deputy Ross and
sent someone to bring her in. If it wasn't for Ross, she would be dead by now.
She suddenly felt the guilt all over again that the man had gotten injured in
the process. If she wouldn't have been so God damn trusting, everything would
have continued to play out without anyone else getting hurt. But she still
would have ended up testifying and putting an innocent man in prison. The rest
of her life would have been spent in hiding.

All for the little brother who no longer existed.

"Anyway, you've fucked it all up by backing out so now
I'm taking you in myself."

"It's too late, Rayce. I already told them
everything."

His features morphed and the expression on his face turned
to pure hatred. He lifted the gun and pointed it at her, she assumed he was
trying to decided whether or not to just shoot her now. He dropped it back to
his lap and shook his head before lifting it once more.

"You stupid little bitch," he growled and sweat
broke out across his forehead.

She just stared at him, unable to truly accept that this was
who he had become. That he would care so little for his own blood.

His shaking hand dropped the gun back to his lap and he
sighed. "I'll figure something out, but for now, you're coming with
me." He stood from his chair and moved in front of her, kicking Givens
aside with his boot, making the man groan in pain. "Since
I
didn't
know you'd told them already, Ripley won't know. I'll be on the inside before
he has a chance to make a move."

"You're insane."

He shot her an evil grin, "It's in the blood."

"No, you are literally insane, Rayce. You need
help."

He scowled at her and was reaching down to grab her arm when
a loud knock pounded at the door. The knob turned, but the deadbolt was in
place so whoever it was couldn't get in. She held her breath and Rayce glared
at her. Waiting.

"Emily? It's Conall, open up."

Every muscle in her body froze, but her heart raced at the
sound of Conall's voice.
What the hell is he doing here?

Another several knocks and his deep voice sounded once more,
"Emily? Shaw? Open the door."

Rayce took a step back and pointed the gun in her face
before he lifted a finger to his lips. "Shh, you risk his life if you
speak, Emily," he whispered. "I won't hesitate to shoot him in the
head."

"I'm not leaving until you open the door and show me
that you are okay," Conall shouted. He pounded on it a few more times,
then there was a short silence before he spoke again, panic in his voice.
"Please, I know you're in there."

Rayce rolled his eyes and jerked the gun to indicate that he
wanted her to stand.

"He won't leave, Rayce." He stepped between her
and the door and she struggled to think of how to get Conall to go away so he
wouldn't end up like Givens. "But I can make him. Please. I'll go with
you, just don't hurt him," she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes at her and his jaw ticked as if he was
grinding his teeth. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to shoot Conall if she
couldn't get rid of him. "Hurry it up."

She slowly moved toward the door, not wanting to make any
sudden movements with the gun still pointed at her. Rayce followed and stood
next to her so when she opened the door, he would be behind it. He held the gun
up and kept his eyes on her, silently communicating that he was making a
serious threat.

She slid the deadbolt free and the door swung open with a
loud groan.

Conall's blue eyes locked on hers and she felt a pang in her
chest at the sight of him standing in front of her looking as glorious as ever.
She had finally showered today, but she knew the dark circles under her eyes
from a lack of sleep were more than noticeable. She hadn't been eating well
either and it showed. It's amazing what three days of a broken heart and
feeling sorry for yourself will do.

She cleared her throat as his eyes roamed up and down her
body, she assumed it was to make sure she was in one piece, then he frowned.
She stepped to the side so one shoulder was behind the door, ready to force it
shut if she needed to. "What are you doing here?"

His blue eyes snapped back to hers and she bit the inside of
her cheek so she wouldn't give herself away. She could see Rayce out of the
corner of her eye and he was clearly impatient.

"I had to see you… and apologize."

She tried not to show her relief and frowned in place of the
smile she wanted to give him. "I'm fine. How did you find me?"

His brow furrowed in confusion before he raked a hand
through his hair and cupped the back of his neck. "Miller told me. I've
made some discoveries that I think you need to hear about."

So have I
, she thought.

"Where is Shaw? She should be the one answering the
door," he grumbled. He
would
be upset about that wouldn't he?

"She's in the shower and since I knew it was you…"
she trailed off with a shrug and kept her eyes on his. "I think you should
just let Captain Miller know and he can pass the message on to Shaw. You should
go, Conall."

"What's going on?"

She lost the will to look him in the eye and took a deep
breath as she dropped her gaze to the floor, "Nothing. I just don't want
to see you right now."

"I'm sorry, Emily. I made a mistake. I understand why
you did what you did, I really do. I would have done the same if I thought it
was the only choice I had."

Her shoulders sagged and she saw Rayce move his finger in a
circle, telling her to wrap it up. She stiffened, but kept her eyes on the
floor.

"I appreciate that," she didn't trust her voice to
speak any louder than a whisper and her fingers started to shake, quickly
losing her bravado. She gripped the hem of her shirt with one hand to steady
her fingers while she held herself up using the door with the other.

He glanced down at her trembling fingers and then darted his
eyes behind her into what he could see of the apartment. It only took a few
seconds and for one of those, she was sure he was about to burst in and that
would be it, but instead he stepped forward, close enough to grasp her shaking
hand in his and raise it to his lips.